Fantasy Football Analysis for Champions by The Champion!

July 29, 2017

Indianapolis Colts Fantasy Football Preview

The Indianapolis Colts are a pass first offense, which has been the case ever since Peyton Manning was the quarterback of the team. Nothing has changed since they drafted their new franchise quarterback in 2012. There are a lot of points to be had for owners if they draft anyone from the Colts.

Must Draft Players

Andrew Luck – Quarterback

T.Y. Hilton – Wide Receiver

Andrew Luck was drafted to be the successor of Peyton Manning in Indianapolis, and so far, he has done pretty well to be that guy. For Fantasy Football, Luck has been a stud quarterback for owners. In 4 of the 5 seasons where he played a minimum of 15 games, he has averaged 4,299 passing yards and 29 touchdowns each season. He has had two seasons where we had over 30 touchdowns, including 40 in 2014. In addition to his passing numbers, Luck has added with his rushing stats. He has averaged 312 yards and 4 rushing touchdowns a season. Between his passing and rushing stats, he averages 25.1 points per game. No wonder he gets drafted so early!

If you play in a PPR league (which you should), T.Y. Hilton is a stud for your team. He and Andrew Luck came into the league together in 2012, and you can tell they have built a great chemistry. Hilton has had at least 69 receptions and more than 1,000 yards in all but his rookie season. In those 4 years, he has averaged 81 receptions and 1,250 yards. The biggest knock on Hilton is that he doesn’t score a lot of touchdowns, only averaging 6 each season during that time frame. Still, 15 points per game from potentially my number 2 wide receiver is a steal!

Players You Should Probably Be Drafting

Frank Gore – Running Back

Donte Moncrief – Wide Receiver

Jack Doyle – Tight End

Frank Gore is an iron man for the NFL. Entering this season at 34, most people are going to pass on him because he is “old” by running back standards. In two seasons with the Colts, his stats are impressive for anyone, let alone a running back his age. He has averaged 996 rushing yards and 5 rushing touchdowns. Not only is he rushing the ball, he is active in the passing game as well. He has averaged 36 receptions for 272 receiving yards and 3 receiving touchdowns. This is while he is still touching the ball 300 times for the season.

Donte Moncrief played in 9 games last season and had 7 touchdowns. His ratio of receptions to touchdowns was 4:1 and his ratio of yards to touchdowns was 44:1. By comparison, in his first two seasons he was 11:1 on receptions (96 receptions) and 131:1 on yards (1,177). I actually don’t like Moncrief at all this year as I feel like the #2 wide receiver will be closely contested between Moncrief and the wide receivers I mention later. I think the true #2 option is the tight end.

And the tight end for the Colts is Jack Doyle. Doyle was the second leading receiver for the Colts at 584 yards. He did that on 59 receptions and scored 5 touchdowns. He had to share time with Dwayne Allen, who is not with the team anymore. The two tight ends combined for 94 receptions on 127 targets, 990 yards and 11 touchdowns. Andrew Luck likes throwing to the tight end and I think Jack Doyle will reap the rewards!

Players You Could Draft If Your Rosters are Deep

Robert Turbin – Running Back

Phillip Dorsett – Wide Receiver

Kamar Aiken – Wide Receiver

Erik Swoope – Tight End

I’ve made it clear that I like Frank Gore this year and I think he could still be a serviceable running back for your team. In the event he becomes hurt, Robert Turbin will be the running back to own in Indy. Behind Gore, Turbin was given the most rushing attempts and passing targets of all the running backs.

Phillip Dorsett has been a huge disappointment for the Colts since they invested a first-round pick in him in 2015. His career numbers are 51 receptions for 753 yards and 3 touchdowns. He would need a lot of help to be relevant in Fantasy Football this season.

Kamar Aiken is an interesting name to me, only because of his 2015 production. He had 75 receptions for almost 1,000 yards and 5 touchdowns. His other two seasons he has had half the yards and receptions and 1 less touchdown. He is now in an offense that is pass first, and if he were to play the slot I believe he could end up being a waiver wire gem this season.

As I mentioned before, Andrew Luck likes throwing to the tight end. Erik Swoope did have 15 receptions for 297 yards and a touchdown last season. He could have some decent games in 2017, but he would only be worth having on your roster if something happened to Jack Doyle.